Beginning in Fiscal Year 2018, the City Council's Strategic Plan included a milestone to review Town ordinances and regulations to modernize them and facilitate redevelopment. To address this strategic need, the Town engaged Clarion Associates in June 2018 to review the Town’s current development regulations and to create a new Unified Development Code (UDC) shaped by a robust public review process.
The UDC drafting and review process is comprised of four code drafting phases, a testing phase, and public review and adoption of the consolidated UDC document. The four code drafting phases are:
- Zoning Districts and Uses
- Development and Design Standards
- Administration and Procedures
- Signs and Communication Facilities
Following kickoff of the project in the summer of 2018, the project team initiated a thorough review of the Town’s existing zoning and development regulations, which ultimately culminated in the Development Regulations Assessment Report. This report was shaped by initial feedback received during the first UDC Advisory Committee meeting and through additional engagement with Town staff. The Development Regulations Assessment Report was formally presented in March 2019 at the second UDC Advisory Committee meeting, a subsequent community workshop, and a joint meeting of the City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission.
After receiving feedback on the Assessment Report, the project team began drafting the Zoning Districts and Land Use sections of the UDC. Drafts of these components were presented in September 2019 at the third UDC Advisory Committee, a subsequent community workshop, and at a November 2019 joint meeting of the City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission.
At the conclusion of the first code drafting phase, the project team began the drafting and review process for the Development and Design Standards section of the UDC. From December 2019 to September 2020, Town staff and Clarion Associates exchanged feedback on these components while public meetings associated with the UDC project were suspended due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. With pandemic conditions improving and the Director of Development Services position being filled on a permanent basis, the project team is ready to restart this project.
Project Schedule: Based on remaining project needs, staff will execute the below completion schedule for the UDC:
| |
Start |
Finish |
| Development and Design Standards |
May 2021 |
August 2021 |
| Administration and Procedures |
August 2021 |
October 2021 |
| Signs and Communication Facilities |
August 2021 |
December 2021 |
| Prepare and Review Consolidated Draft UDC |
December 2021 |
March 2022 |
| Final UDC Presentation and Adoption |
April 2022 |
June 2022 |
Due to its size and complexity, the Development and Design Standards phase will be carried out over a four-month period and will include three site visits from the Clarion Associates team. For each site visit, the project team will facilitate a project advisory committee meeting, a community outreach event, and a joint meeting of the City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission. The community outreach event may be something very formal such as an open house or virtual public meeting, or it may be informal, such as pop-up events at a location in Town where people may already be congregating.
Review Guidance: To support your review efforts throughout the Development and Design Standards phase, we are providing the entire document up front so that you may review it at your own pace. Content from this phase will be covered as follows:
- Part I (June 16-17): Floods, Grading and Drainage, Access & Circulation, Subdivision Regulations
- Part II (July 21-22): Parking & Loading, Site and Building Design, Exterior Lighting
- Part III (August 25-26): Landscaping, Buffering & Fences, Parkland Dedication and Park Development Fee
At the June 17th joint meeting, the project team will reintroduce the project and will facilitate a targeted discussion of Part I of the Development Standards phase. Staff will be requesting direction from the City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission on proposed development standards addressing flood prevention, grading and drainage, site access and circulation, and the subdivision of land. The consultant presentation will be tailored to introduce critical elements of each topic and to provide opportunity for feedback on the direction of the code.
Presentation materials will be provided at the meeting.
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